When things go wrong, Arsenal get them wrong in Spades. Last night was a total shambles, and for all Wenger's talk about the team defending 'suicidally' I don't see how he can possibly park all the blame on the players.
You see, it's all very well to play Alexis, Ozil, Cazorla, Welbeck and Giroud when you're up against a side in the lower reaches of the Premier League, but to have the arrogance (and yes, I chose that word deliberately) to set up like that in the Champions League is to my mind unforgivable. Yes, they missed chances to take the lead and Giroud especially missed a couple of virtual sitters and generally had a stinker, but apart from the first 15 minutes or so there was little doubt about who were the better set up and coached, more organised and more hard-working side on the pitch.
In many ways, it's OK to be given a lesson by the Barcelonas and Bayerns of this world, but this was Monaco, and on paper Arsenal have better players than they do. But even a severely-weakened Monaco side were better than Arsenal all over the pitch. Kondogbia (sign him, Arsene!) and Moutinho were outstanding, but team shape, work rate, closing down and tracking back were where Arsenal were truly shown up.
So the initial team selection was wrong - far too attacking - and I don't think we saw anything change tactically until he hooked Giroud - which he absolutely had to - and then took off our only defensive midfielder - an extraordinary move - to bring on The Ox. Either Ozil or Alexis (is he fully fit?) could easily have gone and some sort of shape could have been kept.
It has been clear for a while that there's something missing from the current Wenger regime. For all his qualities, he simply can't cut it any more at the top table. In the Premier League, sheer financial muscle and the qualities of the players Arsenal attract will drag the side into the Top 4 every season, but is that really enough when disappointment is heaped on disappointment year after year in the big matches. Whilst finishing above Sp*rs is all well and good, and indeed expected, that's really not what it's about. We should be leaving them behind in any case. But for the football fan, at any level, it's the hope that kills you.
From the moment I saw last night's team, I feared the worst, and when the early goal didn't come and the shape and tempo of the game changed I felt it coming. Because I have felt the same feeling before. But it's the lack of reaction that hurts me more than anything. No change to the shape, and no adaption to what is in front of them. For that, I have to blame the Manager. As I said up top, it's all very well slaughtering Aston Villa, but if anyone has been 'suicidal' it's M Wenger.
People would say that those in the anti-Wenger camp only rear their heads when something catastrophic like this happens. To be fair, there's really nothing to say when we're putting Premier League also rans to the sword, but it's been clear to me that confidence has been fragile and the side has been fortunate on occasions even in the past few weeks when they have risen to third, but it all gets glossed over... until a night like last night.
Frankly, I would imagine that Sam Allardyce could get Arsenal into the Top 4. The club needs someone to take them further. Arsene Wenger, for all his qualities, is no longer that man and every big match defeat that goes by reinforces that view.
And so on to the next big match. Manchester United away. They've got the Indian Sign over us irrespective of who their Manager is, and how sh*t they may actually be, so I've gone from expectation to hope in one evening. Let's hope they can lift themselves for that one.
